UTSA hosts Sept. 13 lecture on sexual assault

(Sept. 12, 2005)--The UTSA Campus Activities Board, Counseling Services, Student Health Services, Student Judicial Affairs, and University Housing will host a Sept. 13 workshop and lecture on sexual assault by national spokeswoman Katie Koestner. The presentations are free and open to the public.

"Beyond Awareness," a workshop on sexual programming and education is set for 5-6 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the Business Building University Room (2.06.04), 1604 Campus. From 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., Koestner's keynote presentation, "No-Yes" will be presented in Main Building Room 0.104, 1604 Campus.

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"Beyond Awareness" is an interactive workshop that has challenged peer educators and student leaders across the nation to go beyond the surface of sexual assault. The workshop includes discussions emphasizing problem-solving and brainstorming ideas for new peer education projects. The presentation includes dramatizations, cutting-edge projects and activities such as a mock rape trial, a men's pledge and a program called "Toilet Talk."

"No-Yes" is an emotionally gripping presentation about Koestner's journey from victim to survivor. She relates stories from other rape survivors with a message of successful sexual communication, drug and alcohol responsibility, and respect for yourself and others.

Koestner received national attention for speaking out nationally against rape, which has been called "a crime of silence." After being sexually assaulted when she was a college student, she decided to go public with her emotional story to bring light to an issue formerly not discussed by victims.

She was featured on the cover of Time magazine as part of a special issue on date rape. Her program, :He Said-She Said," was the basis of the HBO Lifestories docudrama, "No Visible Bruises: The Katie Koestner Story." Koestner appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "Good Morning America," "NBC Nightly News," "Larry King Live" and "Entertainment Tonight," among others.

A trained sexual assault peer counselor, Koestner founded Students Helping Others to Understand Trauma (SHOUT) at Cornell University and the Sexual Assault Companions Program at William and Mary College.

She is co-author of "Sexual Assault on Campus: What Every College Needs to Know About Protecting Victims, Providing for Just Adjudication and Complying with Federal Laws," a guidebook on model campus sexual assault policies, and "Total Sexual Assault Risk Management Strategies for Colleges." She contributed to "Just Sex," an anthology on the history of the anti-sexual violence movement.